Engaging the Silent Sufferer

By Dr. Jerome J. Newton

In Engaging the Silent Sufferer, Dr. Jerome Newton addresses the issues of shame, guilt, and disgrace that continually plague men and women who are suffering in silence. By its nature, abuse is a topic that is rarely discussed. Perpetrators remain silent because they recognize their acts could be deemed criminal, and victims remain silent becaus

• Language: English
• Publisher: ARPress
• Release date: Jan 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798893303179

Dr. Jerome J. Newton

Dr. J. Jerome Newton is a native of Mount Olive, North Carolina, and a retired United States Marine Corps Officer. He is the Founding Pastor of Rock of Faith Christian Church and an international preacher, speaker, and educator. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree at Winston Salem State University (1978), a Master of Divinity from Howard University (2003), and his Doctorate of Ministry at Virginia Union University (2012). He has served as an Adjunct Professor of religion at the University of Mount Olive.

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Copyright © 2023 by Dr. J. Jerome Newton

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2024900507

Table of Contents

About This Book 

Dedication 

Introduction

Exercise A. 

Profiles Of Silent Sufferers

My Story 

Graph A PTSD– Related Military Suicides by Branch vs. Civilians. 

Loren

Georgina

Josephine

Stephanie

Meredith

May

Shelley

Jessica

Kelly

Jennifer

The Issue

Table 1. Comprehensive Overview 

Module 1 

Graph B. Mechanisms of Power and Control 

Module 2 

Table 2.Activities Designed to Integrate Abuse Topics at the Local Church

Module 3: Developing the Action Plan 

Table 3 Considerations for ICAP Development 

Summary

Jargon and Definitions

About The Author

About This Book

This book was motivated by Dr. Newton’s long-standing interest in and enthusiasm for serving others, primarily through counseling, mentoring, and biblically based teaching. His counseling patients have included many who were considered a public success but had private struggles and felt like failures. Their public success and mastery of a non-display of emotions belied the truth of their inner and darkest secrets of abuse, pain, and shame. Dr. Newton’s life’s work has encompassed twenty years of service, including: as an officer in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), twenty years in a variety of ministerial roles, fifteen years as a pastor, eight years of teaching at-risk youth and young adults, and six years of community-based outreach and crisis counseling. Finally, this book was designed from the input of nineteen participants, pastors who represent churches from two distinct geographic areas: Kinston/Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area.

Dedication

This book is dedicated first to my mother, Mrs. Odis Bernice Newton: my rock, my friend, and my counselor and traveling companion, who has always been by my side with prayers and encouragement. She is my inspiration and support.

Second, I dedicate this book to all who have suffered in silence, regardless of what the infringement to their person is or was, and especially to those of you who continue to suffer without any professional assistance to coach you through the pain that continues to challenge your thoughts and life decisions; to those who have become an outlet and support to those who continue to suffer; to those who have become a testament and testimony of God’s abounding grace in their lives through their survival and success in spite of the obstacles.

Third, I dedicate this book to those who still struggle with that life infringement of the guilt, the hurt, and the shame of that horrific encounter, those who continue to suffer. It is my prayer that healing will come soon.

To all of you, no matter where you are, I salute you for your courage to persevere. I dedicate this book to all who suffer in silence, especially women who have suffered in silent and have withstood the test of time.

Introduction

Over the years, I have had the privilege of traveling around the world and across this great country, the United States of America. The experiences I have had as a commissioned officer in the United States Armed Forces, a schoolteacher, a government employee, an adjunct professor, a minister of the Gospel, and a pastor have given me the immense privilege of traveling and meeting numerous people from around the globe. However, with all that I have experienced, nothing compares to the challenges I faced while teaching middle school. I had the honor of working as a teacher in Clinton and Southern Prince George’s County, Maryland, a place recognized as one of the most affluent African American counties in the nation. The demographics were comprised of a collection of middle-income and diverse neighborhoods of blended single-parent households, young families with small children, working adult households, and retired senior homeowners.

With two large military installations located within ten miles, and several others within twenty miles of this area, Maryland is a magnet for active-duty and retired military personnel. At the time, I pastored a small startup church in the area, Rock of Faith Christian Church. There are several megachurches in close proximity, so those who attended Rock of Faith were typically seeking a smaller, more family-oriented place to worship and grow spiritually.

My Introduction to Dysfunction

The diverse nature of the community I served allowed for a myriad of issues to creep in that needed attention, including truancy, teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, divorce, financial distress, and homelessness. During this time, our outreach efforts opened doors in the community and afforded opportunities to assist those needing intervention in these areas. Through this work within my congregation and community, I gained extensive experience supporting and guiding individuals and families in crisis.

I have been fortunate to work nearly all of my life in a capacity that has allowed me to follow my passion, that is, to foster and encourage the spiritual growth and transformation of others as they deal with challenges at varying ages and stages of their lives. What has been most apparent to me throughout my work is the ever-increasing extent to which many individuals—particularly those in the church—are caught up in their private situations; for a variety of reasons, they are not proactively reaching out to receive the help needed. Instead, they sit silently under the sounds of our voices and our pastoral leadership, hoping and praying for an inspired, transformational word that will help them to move forward.

This book was also motivated by my long-standing interest in and enthusiasm for serving others, primarily through counseling, mentoring, and biblically based teaching. My life’s work has encompassed nearly twenty-three years of service as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, twenty years in a variety of ministerial roles, fifteen years as a pastor, eight years of teaching at-risk youth and young adults, and six years of community-based outreach and crisis counseling. Throughout the years, I have gained extensive training in each of these settings: military training and education, civilian undergraduate and graduate training, and Christian graduate education. I received many hours of formal training in crisis counseling, grief counseling, mentoring, advocating, marital counseling, rape and trauma counseling, and family crisis intervention. At both Texas Christian University and Howard University, I completed over twelve graduate credit hours of coursework in pastoral counseling. Yet nothing could prepare me for the actual sit-down interviews or counseling that took place during